The Valongo City Council has requested from the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) an urgent technical inspection of the Recivalongo landfill, in Sobrado, to assess the consequences of a fire that occurred on Sunday, the municipality disclosed today to Lusa.
In the email sent on Tuesday to the APA, the administration led by the socialist Paulo Esteves Ferreira expressed concern about the “potential environmental effects arising from this incident, given the nature of the activity carried out at that facility and the need to guarantee the protection of natural resources and the surrounding population.”
Considering the protection of soils, groundwater bodies, surface water resources and health, the municipality requests, “with urgency, a technical inspection aimed at assessing the consequences of the fire and verifying the integrity of the environmental protection infrastructures and systems in place at the site.”
In the communication sent to the APA, the council believes it is essential to confirm the condition and operability of the impermeabilization membranes and other environmental confinement systems in place and the integrity of drainage, leachate collection and treatment systems, and any damage resulting from exposure to heat or the spread of the fire that could compromise the effectiveness of the environmental protection barriers.
In addition, according to the municipality, there is any risk of leachate seeping into the soils or underlying aquifers, the adequacy of measures adopted to retain, channel and manage the waters used in firefighting operations, as well as any runoff likely to reach watercourses, soils or drainage systems.
The need to implement corrective, preventive or extraordinary monitoring measures following the incident and the possible impact on air quality and the need for monitoring or specific assessment of effects resulting from the combustion of the materials stored at the facility are also risks that the municipality wants inspected.
In the same vein, the municipality also wants verification that the conditions established in the environmental license and other applicable authorizations for operating the facility are being met, ensuring that all environmental protection systems and procedures remain fully compliant and operational, it reads.
According to the municipality, the current operating license for the Recivalongo installation in Sobrado is valid only until December 2026, which is why they argue that the results of the assessment should be a relevant element to consider in the context of evaluating any renewal of the operating license, since the continuity of activity should rest on an unequivocal demonstration of the safety of the installation and its environmental compliance.
In this context, it also requests that the results of the verifications, inspections and assessments conducted be communicated to the Municipality of Valongo, as well as any measures determined for the operator.
Lusa attempted to obtain a reaction from Recivalongo, but to date it has not been possible.
